News from Nowhere · Chapter
XV: On the Lack of Incentive to Labour in a Communist Society explained
The narrator and Old Hammond discuss the nature of work in the new society.
What happens
The narrator and Old Hammond discuss the nature of work in the new society. Hammond explains that all work is now pleasurable, done for the reward of life and creation, not for monetary gain. He contrasts this with the nineteenth century, where goods were made to sell rather than to use, and machines were perfect but their products worthless. The chapter explores how the abolition of buying and selling, the focus on genuine use, and the freedom to do what one does best have made work a sought-after pleasure rather than a burden.
Themes in this chapter
Pleasure in Work
Central to the chapter: Hammond argues that all work is now pleasurable, either from the hope of gain in honour, as a pleasurable habit, or as conscious sensuous pleasure by artists.
Critique of Industrial Capitalism
The chapter heavily criticizes the nineteenth-century capitalist system where goods were made to sell rather than to use, and machines were perfect but their products worthless.
Utopian Socialism
Hammond describes a society where work is done for genuine use, with no buying or selling, and where everyone finds work suited to their turn of mind, echoing Fourier's ideas.
Characters to notice
- Guest
The narrator asks probing questions about the incentive to work in a communist society, showing his curiosity and gradual understanding of the new order.
- Old Hammond
Old Hammond provides a detailed explanation of how work has become pleasurable, contrasting the new system with the exploitative practices of the nineteenth century.
- Dick
Mentioned as expected to arrive with Clara, but they do not appear during the conversation.
- Clara
Mentioned as expected to arrive with Dick, but they do not appear during the conversation.
Key passages
“The reward of labour is life. Is that not enough?”
The true reward for work is simply living, which should be sufficient.
Hammond's response to the narrator's question about the lack of material reward for labour.
“It was a current jest of the time that the wares were made to sell and not to use”
People in the nineteenth century joked that goods were created for sale rather than for practical use.
Hammond's critique of the capitalist market system.
“the great achievement of the nineteenth century was the making of machines which were wonders of invention, skill, and patience, and which were used for the production of measureless quantities of worthless makeshifts.”
The nineteenth century's main accomplishment was creating perfect machines that produced vast amounts of useless items.
Hammond's ironic observation about industrial progress.